Slideshow

At a glance

Star: Central quarterback Cody Kondas, who completed 11 of 15 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries

Key play: Central’s Max Shawver intercepted Braves quarterback Andrew Horstman in the end zone late in the first half with the Warhawks leading 20-7.

Key stat: Olentangy turned the ball over on downs three times in the second half.

Quarterback Cody Kondas threw a touchdown and rushed for a score to lead the Westerville Central High School football team to a 20-7 win over host Olentangy in an OCC-Cardinal Division game on Friday, Oct. 14.

It was the fourth consecutive victory for the Warhawks, who improved to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the OCC-Cardinal. Olentangy had its two-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 4-4 and 3-2.

All the scoring occurred in the first half, with Central amassing 256 total yards in the first half but only 51 in the second half. The Warhawks’ offense ran only nine plays in the second half until their final possession, which was 11 plays and ran the final 5 minutes, 5 seconds off the clock.

Olentangy, which had 117 total yards in the first half and 89 in the second half, ran 31 offensive plays in the second half.

“We wanted to do more (offensively) in the second half, but they ate up most of the third and fourth quarters and we told our coaches, ‘We’re going to help them,’” Central coach John Magistro said of his team’s conservative approach on offense in the second half. “We were determined to kill some clock, but they did most of it.

“We’ll take the 20-7 win. That’s good enough for us.”

Central took a 6-0 lead 31 seconds into the game with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Kondas to wide receiver Channing Doermann on the third play from scrimmage. The Warhawks made it 13-0 with 33 seconds left in the first quarter, capping a 12-play, 92-yard drive with a 9-yard run by Kondas.

Central extended its lead to 20-0 with 8:16 left in the second quarter when running back Jalen Liggins scored on a 6-yard run.

Olentangy cut its deficit to 20-7 with 5:11 left in the first half with a 4-yard touchdown run by running back Joshua Perry. The score capped a three-play, 41-yard drive that was set up by the Braves’ Zach Padovan, who recovered a muffed punt by Davon Reed.

The Braves missed another scoring opportunity late in the first half as quarterback Andrew Horstman was intercepted in the end zone by Central defensive back Max Shawver with 1:16 left on first-and-10 at the Warhawks’ 25.

Olentangy turned the ball over three times on downs in the second half, including once at the Warhawks’ 23-yard line and once at their 22. The Braves also missed a 37-yard field goal after recovering a fumble by Kondas at Warhawks’ 20.

“We were better offensively in the second half, but you have to give Central credit,” Braves coach Ed Terwilliger said. “They played a great first half. They kept the ball away from us and scored and their defense did a nice job. It’s tough to come back from that, but I’m proud of our kids for not quitting.”

“Their quarterback makes it difficult because if you drop (into coverage), he runs it, and if you blitz, he throws it,” Terwilliger said.

Perry, an Ohio State recruit, had only five carries for 17 yards and left the game midway through the second quarter because of illness.

“He was throwing up at school and he tried to play, but he was just too sick,” Terwilliger said.

Horstman led the Braves’ offense, completing eight of 17 passes for 119 yards. Running back Derrick Rodgers had 43 yards on 12 carries.

Olentangy offensive tackle Kenton Playko, a Northwestern recruit, returned to the lineup after missing five games because of a broken right leg. He suffered the injury in an 18-14 loss to Delaware on Sept. 2.